The historic city of Congonhas is famous for the soapstone statues of twelve prophets, sculpted by Aleijadinho two centuries ago. These statues are located in front of Santuário de Bom Jesus de Matosinhos. Obviously the first letters of the prophets form the name of Aleijadinho. And one of them is Jonas, who was ordered by God to go to Ninivé, but he refused. He then got swallowed by a whale, but he survived. He eventually fulfilled God’s will and went to that Assyrian-dominated city. The moral of this story was forgiveness. He is looking upward, into the sky, as if he was communicating with God. When observing the weather-worn statues, I was wondering how the statues would have looked at the time of their creation, two centuries ago.

Minas Gerais host some very interesting historic towns: Ouro Preto, Mariana, Diamantina, Tiradentes, Sabara, Sao Joao del Rei and Congonhas. Congonhas, located on the historic route “Estrada Real” between Diamantina and Rio de Janeiro, famous for the sanctuary (Basilica) of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, the statues of twelve prophets, and six chapels with seven performances of the Cross. The sanctuary included in The UNESCO World Heritage List. The prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Obadiah, Amos, Jonah, Nahum and Habakkuk – and the Cross were carved in Baroque style by master sculptor Aleijadinho. The soapstone statues of the prophets are quite affected through the test of time; how would these statues have looked like at the beginning of the eighteenth century, when they just had been carved?

Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, CONGONHAS (MG)

The construction of this church began in 1757. The construction is attributed to the Portuguese Feliciano Mendes, who was a prospector in his active life, searching for gold. As a result of his work, he became quite ill, but he healed miraculously. Feliciano was a deeply religious man and kept his promise. He built the chapel with his own hands. Unfortunately, the death came still unexpected for him (in 1765), while the church was not completed yet. It was then decided to finish the construction of the church, and the most important artists of that era were invited to participate. These artists included Francisco Xavier Carneiro, Ataydes Manoel Da Costa, and Antônio Francisco Lisboa, we now better know for his nickname Aleijadinho.